Harlem

Harlem is a very short poem written by Langston Hughes during his life time of 1902-1967. To me the poem seems to have absolutely nothing to do with Harlem, it is about what happens to a dream. The poem does actually make you think, and I feel that it represents different kinds of dreams we can have whether it be a night mare, or just a plain average dream. I do not feel that good or sweet dreams are represented in this poem. Mostly we are asked if the dreams are simply dissipating with time or if they swell up and consume us. A good dream would bring us excitement, pleasure, and we would never want to forget it. Unlike those portrayed in the poem that simply dry up, and dissipate over time or, the dreams that fester and become heavy loads. Those are the dreams that drag us down or instill terror through nightmares. If you are not one who believes in dreams then this poem would have little to no meaning to you because I do not think there is anything else you can pull from the poem other than dreams. 

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken is a famous poem written by Robert Frost during his life time of 1874-1963. This poem is about the struggle we all face when it comes to either an everyday decision or a life changing event. The character in the poem chose the path less taken and in the final line he states it has made all the difference. From that I feel as though we can take from it that not all the time is societies ideas or path always the right one for us, we must our own individual determination on which path to take. Granted driving over a cliff or taking the bridge is one where we all pretty much obviously would say to take the path over the bridge. My point is that not all the time is the social norm the right path to take, sometimes the path less traveled is better. One other way I feel one can read this poem is with the mind set of believing in God or not believing in Him. Whether it was Frosts intentions or not every time I read this poem I always feel like the path less taken is the one choosing to have faith and believe in God. 

Hills Like White Elephants

Hills Like White Elephants is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway during his life time of 1899- 1961. When I first read this story I found it to be rather vague. The entire story seemed to be about a young girl and an average age man somewhere in the mountains of Barcelona, Spain sitting in a bar next to some railroad tracks, and while waiting for their train they were filling themselves with drinks. Meanwhile they carried on a conversation about something of importance but they never allude to what it is. Discussion in class certainly helped to make the story more understandable but I was still puzzled because apparently the subject of their conversation to which they never mentioned was that the girl needs to have or is going to have an abortion. I assume the child is the man’s but the story is vague on details so we can only assume this. What does not make sense though is if the girl is pregnant why is she drinking so much because we know it is extremely bad for the baby for the mother to drink during her pregnancy. Perhaps the story is set in a time before we had the medical technology to know it was bad to drink during her pregnancy but then the question comes up how prevalent would an abortion have been during that time period. 

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a play that was written by Tennessee Williams during his life time of 1911-1983 that debuted in 1944. The play stars four main characters Amanda, Laura, Tom, and Jim O’Connor who are living in St. Louis, during the 1930’s. The whole play is a memory brought to life from the mind of Tom who also narrates the play. Tom is the son of Amanda. He works in a warehouse everyday and struggles with alcohol and the constant hounding of his mother. Amanda is an overly concerned mother who wants the best for her children and, for Laura to find a man to marry. Laura is the daughter of Amanda; she is very shy and self-conscious due mainly to a brace and limp in one of her legs. Jim O’Connor is a coworker of Tom, who becomes a gentleman caller to Laura towards the end of the play. As the play starts off Tom explains the setting and history leading up to the start of the play. Amanda, Tom and Laura all live in the same apartment in St. Louis. Amanda constantly heckles Tom about work and taking care of his sister Laura. Eventually Tom brings home Jim O’Conner a gentlemen caller for Laura to satisfy Amanda. Laura is initially against the idea and refuses to have any interaction with him, but she does eventually warm up to him only to find out that he is already in a relationship with another woman.